What a Week 1! Bad losses by Colorado, Stanford, and of course, our Sun Devils, took their toll. Specifically, ASU dropped out of the national rankings and created what appears to be an uphill battle to regain national respect.

Don’t look for the Devils to jump back into the top 25 this week, even with a convincing win. However, if the conference can score a few upsets, it could benefit ASU and have late-season implications. Here are the match-ups and who we like as it relates to the best interest of the Devils.

The Devils’ Best Interest takes a look at the upcoming Pac-12 games and determines how the results could impact the Sun Devils’ 2015 Season.

Utah State @ #24 Utah (Fri)

The Utes jumped into the national rankings last week by beating Michigan. On Friday night, they hosted rival Utah State, who played tough, tying the game at 14 before the half. The Utes defense held in the second half and came away with the 24-14 victory. The important news from this game: Utah QB Travis Wilson was injured in the 2nd quarter when he landed hard on his left shoulder after a hit. He didn’t return to the game. Most importantly, the Utes took care of business which is what we wanted as Sun Devil fans.

Oregon State @ Michigan

For the second week in a row, the Wolverines will square off with the Pac-12. However, this time Michigan gets to host the Beavers in “The Big House”. We’ve got two new coaches going head to head in Ann Arbor, and think the home-town fans might just be enough to secure Jim Harbaugh’s first Michigan win. We’d love to see Oregon State surprise but wouldn’t count on it.

Sacramento State @ Washington

The Huskies played Boise State surprisingly tough last week and almost pulled out a victory. Maybe Washington isn’t as shaky as we all thought? Then again, Washington Coach Chris Peterson had an advantage of familiarity when competing against the Boise State team he built. We will see as the year progresses, but the Huskies should be able to take care of Sac State at home and help the conference with a win. Go Dawgs.

UMASS @ Colorado

The Buffs lost last week at Hawaii but return home to host the University of Massachusetts for an 11:00 AM Kickoff. Colorado receiver Nelson Spruce will be contested by standout UMASS DB Randall Jette. The Buffs are steadily improving though, and we think they’ll show resilience and battle the Minutemen for a victory at home. They need it, and the conference would like to log another win.

Washington State @ Rutgers

Coach Mike Leach and the Cougars take a rare trip back east to square off with Rutgers in New Jersey. In last year’s match-up in Pullman, the Scarlett Knights beat the Cougs 41-38. We’re pulling for Wazzu and Coach Mike Leach to rebound after last week’s home loss to Portland State.

San Diego State @ Cal

Cal won last week, and quarterback Jared Goff looked really good. The Mountain West Conference brings some good competition to the table, so Head Coach Sonny Dykes has a chance to better show his teams talents than last week when they crushed Grambling State 73-14. San Diego State had 5 interceptions last week in a win over San Diego, but they’ll have there hands full in Berkley. Cal should handle this one, and we’ll take it.

#22 Arizona @ Nevada

Arizona has no business being ranked. They beat a UTSA team last week at home by only ten points, and their defense looked atrocious without their anchor LB Scooby Wright, who is expected to miss about a month with an MCL tear. Nevada is usually tough to handle with their “pistol” offense, so a win by the Wildcats would show better competitiveness than last week. That being said, no self-respecting Sun Devil fan should root for the Cats unless it directly helps ASU.

Go Wolfpack!

Idaho @ #8 USC

Everyone is expecting USC to return to their glory days this year. It will be hard to tell much about these Trojans against Idaho State. They won’t prove their worth until they face Stanford next weekend at the Coliseum. An SC victory is good for the Pac, and it will keep the Trojans in the top ten. The higher SC’s ranking when they come to Tempe, the more valuable an ASU victory would be on September 26. Do your thing, Troy. We’ll see you soon.

#7 Oregon at #5 Michigan State

This game could be huge in deciding the four team playoff at the end of the year.  I know last year shouldn’t matter, but Oregon did beat the Spartans at home in a game that was mostly dominated by Michigan State. We think the Spartans, with revenge on their mind, will pull out the win. Of course, we’d like to see the Ducks defeat a top-5 team on the road because it would bode well for the Pac-12. This will be one to watch, and it finishes around the time that the Devils explode out of Tillman Tunnel in Tempe.

Central Florida @ Stanford

Stanford looked poor at Northwestern last week as they dropped their opening game in Chicago. Central Florida also stumbled in its 15-14 opener to Florida International. This game’s is in Palo Alto though, so we look for the Cardinal to get back on track with a close win. Pull this one out, Stanford.

#13 UCLA @ UNLV

Here is another Pac-12/Mountain West game. Last week UCLA looked like they were in good hands with freshman quarterback, Josh Rosen. This game could provide a bit of a test as Rosen and the Bruins go on the road, but we expect a healthy victory over the Rebels. Much like with USC, we want UCLA to continue to win and climb in the poles until we meet them in Pasadena in just three games.

Cal Poly @ ASU

“Saturday sucked,” Mike Norvell told ESPN. “There’s nothing fun about it.” As for the let down in Houston, remember that Ohio State lost their first game last year.

The Sun Devils want to punish the Cal Polly Mustangs in front of the Maroon & Gold faithful Saturday night. The Mustangs are riding a high from last week when their kicker, Alex Vega, nailed a 48-yard field goal with four seconds left in a 20-19 win over Montana.

We won’t be satisfied unless the Devils put up 40 points, and allow no more than 10. If they don’t, we’ll have some concerns mounting from last week. This is not the time to demonstrate good sportsmanship. Sparky should role over at the end of the night, exhausted from a gluttony of push-up celebrations. We expect this team to capitalize on every opportunity and light up the home crowd. This is what they’ve been working towards since the spring. #ForksUp

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